About Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins ( oh-buh-FEH-mee ah-kin-WOON-mee MAR-tinz; born 28 October 1984) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. After leaving Nigeria for Italy at age 16, he played for a number of top-division clubs around Europe. He began his senior career in 2002 at Serie A club Inter Milan, before he moved to Premier League club Newcastle United in 2006, and then to Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg in 2009. Having joined Russian Premier League side Rubin Kazan in 2010, they loaned him to Birmingham City in 2011. He spent a season with La Liga club Levante, he played for Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer from 2013 to 2015, before spending several years in the Chinese Super League with Shanghai Shenhua and Wuhan. In club football, Martins won the Serie A title, the Italian Cup (twice), and the Italian Super Cup, all with Inter. With Birmingham he scored the winning goal in the 2011 Football League Cup final. Martins played in the UEFA Champions League with Inter, Wolfsburg and Rubin. His highest scoring league seasons saw him score 11 goals in the 2004–05 Serie A, and 17 in both the 2006–07 Premier League and 2014 MLS. In international football, Martins was in the Nigerian squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2006, 2008 and 2010, and for the FIFA World Cup in 2010. Martins was signed by Inter Milan in 2001 for a €750,000 transfer fee, and in his first season he scored 23 goals for the youth team, helping them to win the Campionato Nazionale Primavera in 2001–02 season. Martins did not become a regular member of the first team squad until the 2002–03 season.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.